Eco-friendly Businesses Celebrated at 9th Annual Greenfest Philly

Thousands of attendees and more than 100 exhibitors gathered at the South Street Headhouse District on Sunday for the Clean Air Council’s 9th annual Greenfest Philly, celebrating the city’s eco-friendly small businesses. (See photo gallery).

“[Greenfest celebrates] all things happening in our city to promote sustainability, and we reaffirm our commitment to a positive future,” said Joseph Otis Minott, executive director of the Clean Air Council. “It gives me an optimistic view to see these wonderful ideals in thousands of attendees, and I love to see the passion that Philadelphians have for our environment. Philadelphia has a lot to be proud of.”

Eight local businesses and organizations were recognized at this year’s event: Bike Share Philadelphia, Biome, Climate Tracker, Cycle Philly, Milkcrate Philly, Shift Design, Spor, and The Green Program.

“Each year I look forward to meeting the Greenfest Green Innovators, a group of businesses and organizations that we honor for being on the cutting edge of sustainability and coming up with new and creative solutions to reduce environmental impacts,” Minott said. “I’m always impressed and inspired by their ideas.”

In the end, the winner of the on-site festival vote was Bike Share Philadelphia, while the winner of the online voting was The Green Program.

Read more about the winners and the rest of the companies here.

This year’s program was sponsored by SCA, a global hygiene and forest products company that has locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean.

Bike Share Philadelphia will launch next spring in Philadelphia, joining other cities such as Washington, D.C., Boston, Chicago, New York, Denver, Montreal, London and Paris.

Mayor Michael Nutter recently took a surprise trip to France, where he spoke with Paris’ Mayor Anne Hidalgo about bike sharing, along with climate change and the potential partnerships between Philadelphia and Paris.

The Green Program is a sustainability-based study abroad program for students. It will be launching its Philadelphia program, “Sustainable Design and Urban Regeneration,” next year on July 21-29.

Kenneth Hilario covers hospitality, restaurants and takes on general assignments and breaking news.

See the original article: http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2014/09/08/eco-friendly-businesses-celebrated-at-9th-annual.html